J.J. Abrams

STAR TREK Sequel Promo Poster/Image/Something

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: November 5th, 2010 at 2:37 pm

Now before anyone jumps to any conclusions about what this Star Trek sequel image/poster/whatever the hell this thing is, I’m quite sure it isn’t from Paramount or J.J. Abrams Bad Robot.  I have a friend who works in (removed for obvious reasons) and this image/poster came across his desk today.  If I were a betting man, I’d say the image is for some sort of merchandising item, or for some group that needs to plan very far ahead.  But I really don’t know where it originates from.  Hell, it could be an image from an upcoming Star Trek calendar.

However, with interest in the Star Trek sequel quite high, I thought it would be smart to share the image.  Like most of you, I loved J.J. Abrams Star Trek and cannot wait for this sequel.  Hit the jump to check it out.

J.J. Abrams’ SUPER 8 Set for June 10, 2011; Going up Against FAST FIVE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 27th, 2010 at 1:08 pm

J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 has landed a release date of June 10, 2011.  According to Box Office Mojo, that will put the film up against the action flick Fast Five, which is the fifth film in the Fast and Furious franchise and stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Dwayne Johnson.  Not much is known about Super 8 other than it’s set in 1979 Lillian Heights, Ohio, is supposed to be in the vein of 1980s Amblin Entertainment films, and centers on “three siblings who discover footage of an alien in some Super 8 footage they shot.”  The cast includes Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Gabriel Basso, Zach Mills, Riley Griffiths, and AJ Michalka.  Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Up) is providing the score, and Steven Spielberg is executive producing. Click here to check out the teaser trailer and click here to see some set photos.

Khan Won’t Be in STAR TREK 2 but another Original Series Character Will Be; Plus, Don’t Expect a Traditional “Villain”

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 25th, 2010 at 2:43 pm

We have some excellent Star Trek 2 news to report.  Devin Faraci over at  Badass Digest reports that Khan Noonien Singh won’t be the villain in the film and that the sequel “won’t be focused on a traditional ‘villain’ type at all.”  To any fanboys that are upset that Khan won’t be making a return, I’ll just say: 1) The Wrath of Khan will always exist so just go watch that, and 2) new things aren’t inherently bad.  I’ve already made my preferences known regarding Khan in the sequel so I’m glad that they’re not going to take a safe route that wouldn’t make any sense since these characters haven’t lived in the original series mythology that would create a Khan-situation anyway.

But it looks like not being part of the original series mythology won’t necessarily stop other original series characters from playing a role in Star Trek 2.  Hit the jump for more.  Star Trek 2 is slated to be released on June 29, 2012.

FRINGE Season Two Blu-ray Review

by Scott Wampler    Posted: October 12th, 2010 at 1:25 pm

After almost giving up  on JJ Abrams’ Fringe after a borderline-mundane first season, I sat down with season two of the series to see if it had improved.  There wasn’t anything wrong with season one, per se, it just didn’t make me feel like I was missing out on much when I didn’t bother DVR’ing season two.  I’m happy to report, then, that not only does Fringe improve in season two, it nearly becomes a completely different show.  Full review’s after the jump, folks.

AJ Michalka Nabs Role in SUPER 8

by Jason Barr    Posted: September 25th, 2010 at 10:34 am

Singer/actress Amanda “AJ” Michalka has been cast in J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg’s Super 8.  Recently seen in Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, and appearing in the soon-to-be-released Secretariat, Michalka announced via Twitter that she will appear in the tight-lipped sci-fi project.  She joins Kyle Chandler and Elle Fanning as the film’s most recent casting announcements.  Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Gabriel Basso, Zach Mills, and Riley Griffiths will also appear alongside Michalka.

In true Abrams form, little is currently being divulged in regards to Super 8‘s story.  Suffice to say for now that three siblings shoot some footage on a trusty Super 8 and said footage catches some sort of monster doing, well, generally unlikable things.  Production on the film is underway with a Summer 2011 release in mind.  In the meantime, if you are dying for more on Super 8, check out some set photos we brought you last week.

J.J. Abrams’ ALCATRAZ Picked Up for Pilot at Fox While the Michael Emerson & Terry O’Quinn Series Heads to NBC

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: September 23rd, 2010 at 10:58 am

We’ve already mentioned these projects each independently, but since both of these new J.J. Abrams projects just found their network homes, we figured we’d point it out. Deadline reports Alcatraz, the second mysterious island drama from J.J. Abrams and Elizabeth Sarnoff, was picked up for a pilot from Fox. Still no plot details have been uncovered but Sarnoff wrote the script (with previous versions by writers Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt) and will serve as showrunner on the series in addition to sharing executive producing duties with Abrams.

Meanwhile, Vulture reports Abrams other highly anticipated series with Lost stars Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson has landed at NBC. Though it was previously referred to as Odd Jobs, the series remains untitled but it sounds like it will see Emerson and O’Quinn in a comedic drama as former black-ops agents. Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Alias) are writing and also executive producers alongside Abrams. Combine these two shows with Bad Robot’s collaboration with Jonathan Nolan for Person of Interest as CBS, and the only network that needs a fancy new show from Abrams is ABC. But they did have Lost for six years, so I guess it’s just time to spread the wealth.

UNDERCOVERS Series Premiere Review

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: September 22nd, 2010 at 11:12 am

With hits like Alias, Fringe and of course Lost under his belt, it appears Bad Robot mastermind J.J. Abrams can do no wrong. But how does the popular filmmaker take a concept that has been driven into the ground with mediocre romantic comedies like Killers and Date Night or already somewhat explored by NBC’s other action comedy spy series Chuck? The answer is very carefully and with moderate success.

Steven and Samantha Bloom (played respectively by Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw) are struggling through debt with their catering business until grizzly old Agent Carlton Shaw (Gerald McRaney) reluctantly sits them down for a proposal to help locate missing CIA agent Leo Nash (Carter MacIntyre), who also happens to be one of their good friends. With a marriage that has somewhat lost its spark (though certainly not its true love), the only way to spice thing up under the covers may be to become Undercovers all over again. Find out how The Bloom’s fare on their first mission after the jump.

Set Photos from J.J. Abrams’ SUPER 8

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 20th, 2010 at 12:14 pm

The production team on J.J. Abrams’ upcoming sci-fi film Super 8 has pushed Weirton, West Virginia through space and time and transformed it into 1979 Lillian Heights, Ohio.  Details on the project are being kept tight under wraps, but it’s rumored to be in the vein of 80s Amblin Entertainment movies (Steven Spielberg, who co-founded Amblin, is a producer on Super 8) and center on three siblings who discover footage of an alien the Super 8 footage that they shot.  This past weekend, it was reported that Kyle Chandler (TV’s Friday Night Lights) and Elle Fanning (Somewhere) had joined the cast.

Hit the jump to check out some photos from the set.  Super 8 is due out summer 2011.

J.J. Abrams Pitching New Series Starring LOST’s Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: September 20th, 2010 at 10:02 am

Back in August we heard that Lost stars Michael Emerson  and Terry O’Quinn were shopping around some sort of new series with both of them attached. At the time no details were revealed and the project didn’t seem like it was a sure thing, but Emerson hoped it would be a bit lighter than Lost with somewhat of a focus on age and frailty. Well the potential series has just been given a huge push into becoming a reality as Vulture reports J.J. Abrams, along with Alias collaborators Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec, has been pitching a comedic drama that would see the two actors as former black-ops agents. Sold!

Details are sparse but apparently the working title for the series is currently titled Odd Jobs and will no doubt have a sense of humor therein. This is just one of several new TV projects being shopped around town with Bad Robot at the wheel. Abrams just had a mysterious Alcatraz project with Lost writer and executive producer Elizabeth Sarnoff picked up at Fox as well as another secretive project with The Dark Knight writer Jonathan Nolan which has since been revealed to be called Person of Interest that just got picked up at CBS. Stay tuned as all these projects from Bad Robot continue to develop.

Boris Kodjoe Interview UNDERCOVERS

by Christina Radish    Posted: September 18th, 2010 at 1:44 pm

The NBC series Undercovers is a sexy, fun, action-packed spy drama from writer/producer/director J.J. Abrams and executive producer/writer Josh Reims. As far as their family and friends are concerned, Steven Bloom (Boris Kodjoe) and his wife Samantha (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) are a typical married couple with their own catering company in Los Angeles. But secretly, the duo were two of the best spies the CIA had ever known, until they retired five years ago. Now, they’ve been reinstated by their old boss, Carlton Shaw (Gerald McRaney), to locate and rescue a fellow spy who has gone missing.

In a recent interview, actor Boris Kodjoe talked about what a dream come true it is for him to play this role, how much he enjoys getting to do his own stunts, and what an honor it is to be the lead on one of the most-anticipated series of the Fall TV season. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Kyle Chandler & Elle Fanning Join J.J. Abrams’ SUPER 8

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: September 17th, 2010 at 9:01 pm

There was a time when Friday Night Lights leading man Kyle Chandler seemed poised to star in Steven Spielberg’s ambitious time travel drama Terra Nova.  But he passed.  So it goes.  In light of recent news, there are clearly no hard feelings.

Vulture reports that Chandler and Elle Fanning are the first members to join the cast of J.J. Abrams’ Super 8, produced by Mr. Spielberg.  Details are tightly under wraps, though it’s rumored to center on “three siblings who discover footage of an alien in some Super 8 footage they shot.”  We really don’t know much more than that, but there is always room for speculation after the jump.

J.J. Abrams and THE DARK KNIGHT Writer Jonathan Nolan Shopping Around a New Crime Thriller Series

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: September 9th, 2010 at 1:56 pm

Even though we just recently heard that J.J. Abrams is shopping around a new drama series called Alcatraz, it looks like there’s yet another potential TV project being taken around town for interested networks. EW reports Abrams and The Dark Knight screenwriter Jonathan (Jonah) Nolan have been shopping around a new untitled crime thriller series. Aside from the fact that the project involves Abrams and Nolan (this being his first foray into television), there are literally no more details to get excited about just yet. However, with Nolan’s track record including one of the best comic book films of all-time along with great screenplays like The Prestige and the story story upon which Memento was based, I think we’re in store for something great and networks will be clamoring over each other to pick it up. Stay tuned as more information becomes available down the road.

Boris Kodjoe Video Interview RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE; Plus an Update on NBC’s UNDERCOVERS

by Jonah    Posted: September 7th, 2010 at 8:20 am

Zombies have overrun Los Angeles.  And in Screen Gems’ Resident Evil: Afterlife, they’re more than just metaphorically undead.  Newcomer to the merry band of zombie fighting survivors is Boris Kodjoe as Luther West.  At the press junket for Resident Evil: Afterlife, Kodjoe heaped praise upon director Paul W.S. Anderson and then rest of the cast. He also talked a bit about his upcoming role in J.J. Abrams’ Undercovers.  Hit the jump to watch what he had to say:

Paula Patton to Star in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Reboot

by Ramses Flores    Posted: September 1st, 2010 at 7:29 pm

A few days ago we reported that actresses Lauren German (Happy Town), Paula Patton (Precious), and Kristin Kreuk (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li) had all tested for the lead female role in the upcoming Mission: Impossible film.  Deadline is now reporting that the role has gone to Paula Patton, who will be playing a “a young operative who works with Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character.” Details are still being kept under wraps for the latest installment of the franchise, but here is a quick recap of what we know so far.

• The film is, in fact, a reboot and will not be called Mission: Impossible IV
• Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) has been cast in the film and is being set up to carry the franchise for future installments
• The film will be produced by J.J. Abrams and directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles)
• Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg will be returning to reprise their characters from the previous films.

The still untitled Mission:Impossible reboot starts production this Fall and will be released on December 16^th, 2011.

From One Island to Another, J.J. Abrams and Elizabeth Sarnoff Developing New Drama Series ALCATRAZ

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: September 1st, 2010 at 2:10 pm

After spending so much time on a mysterious, deserted island, you would think being surrounded by water on all sides once again would be furthest from J.J. Abrams’ mind, but apparently not. Deadline reports Abrams and Lost writer/producer Elizabeth Sarnoff are shopping around a spec script for a drama series called Alcatraz. An early version of the script came from Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt but the current version came from Sarnoff herself. Since this is an Abrams sanctioned project from Bad Robot, the plot of the series is shrouded in mystery. We’ll be keeping our ears to the ground for anymore details as this potential series develops, but for now just Abrams involvement is enough to get me excited.

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